Method and apparatus for stitching up wool bales and like fabric containers



Nov. 30, 1943. v. ZECKENDORF 2,335,375

' METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STITCHING UP WOOL BALES AND LIKE FABRICCONTAINERS Filed June 14, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 30, 1943. v.ZECKENDORF 2,335,375

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STITCHING UP WOOL BALES AND LIKE FABRICCONTAINERS Filed June 14, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 30, 1943METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STITCHING UP WOOL BALES AND LIKE FABRIC CON-'TAINERS Victor Zeckendorf, Sea Point, Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope,Union of South Africa.

Application June 14, 1940, Serial No. 340,612 In Great Britain June 15,1939 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved method of stitching up wool balesand the like and to the apparatus for carrying the method into practice.The invention is applicable for carrying out the closing stitchingoperation in which the closure flap, usually attached to the top edge ofone side of a bale, is stitched to the top edges of the other threesides. Previouslythis operation, which has been done by hand, has been,a tedious process. The present invention aims at enabling it tobeaccomplished in a fraction of the time taken by this hand stitchingmethod.

According to the invention broadly, it is proposed to provide meanspositioned adjacent the top edges of the bale which, besides holdingsaid edges during the filling operation, cause the material adjacentsaid top edges to be formed into a plurality of folds or open pleats, sothat when the edges of the cover flap are, by means of hooked retainingmembers, made to conform to said folds, the two edges are adapted .to bestitched together for closing purposes by passing a thread one or moretimes through said folds by means of anelongated needle.

More particularly the apparatus as used for a Wool bale consists of arectangular head frame surrounding the bale top so that the top edgesthereof are readily adapted to be engaged with the holding means abovereferred to. The folds or pleats are formed bya plurality of spacedpleat-forming members which are so positioned that they tend to pressthe bale sides inwardly in a series of shallow folds or corrugationsadjacent their top edges. Hooked retaining mem-' bers are arranged tooperate between each of said members so that on engagement with theedges of the cover flap, said edges are drawn by the hooked members intothe folds referred to, to permit of the passing of the elongated needletherethrough in succession from the outside. It will be understood fromthe foregoing description that the passing of a thread or threadsthrough the folds, actually stitches the top edges of the bale to theedges of the cover flap in what is in effect a single operation.Normally the cover flap of a wool bale is permanently attached to onetop edge so that three edges only have to be stitched. From this it willbeunderstood that a unit of the. apparatus is provided for each of thethree sides, which units are however interconnected so that they may bemade to operate simultaneously for bale suspending and bale releasingpurposes. As the several units are of similar construction, adescription will now be given of a single unit constructed according tothe invention. 7

Each unit consists of a holding bar mounted for partial rotation aboutits own axis and positioned parallel with and adjacent the top edge ofthe bale. A row of spaced bale'supporting prongs project from this barby means of which each topedge of the bale is adapted to be hung forthe'purpose of holding the bale open and suspended during the fillingoperation. Partial rotation of said bar by means of a control lever,releases the bale from the said prongs on con ipletion of the stitchingoperation. This control lever in the normal holding position of theprongs, projects downwardly and is held inlsuch posi tion by a,retainingstop fixed to a supporting, framework which extends from floorlevel and supports the head frame at the correct height. Projectingfrom' a separatesupporting bar, mounted behind the holding bar forpivoting movement, about an axis below the axis of the holding bar, is arow of pleat-forming members which consist of downwardly curved metal fin-. gers, so arranged that when an edge: of the bale is engaged over thesupporting prongs, they press the material adjacent said edge'inwardlyin a; plurality of folds or pleats. The action is such that theunsupported portions of the edge be tween each retaining prong sag intothe/spaces between each pleat-forming member. Thefree ends of thepleat-forming members may be .supported in holes, slots or the like,provided in the aforementioned head frame memben j The downwardly foldededge of the cover flap is held in conforming contact with the folds-orpleats referred to, by a gang of hooked retaining members'arranged inspaced relationshipion ,a rod or bar arranged for sliding movement intoand out of the operative position. The saidrodor bar is located beneaththe row of pleat-formingmembers and the hooked members are so spacedthereon that they register with the spaces lbe tween said pleat-formingmembers.

To enablethe invention to be more clearly .understood and car'ried'intopractice,v reference .is now made to the accompanying sheets of drawings in which like reference numerals, denote like parts throughout theseveral views.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus con structedaccording to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view taken on Fig.1. l

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, drawn to an enlarged scale, of thetop left hand 'cornercf the apparatus shown-in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line IV--IV Of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on line V--V of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is another vertical sectional view taken on line VI-VI of Fig. 3,and

Fig. '7 is a shortened elevation of the elongated needle and its holder,and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary end sectional view of a modified arrangement.

Referring to the drawings reference. I denotes a rectangular metalframework or stand supporting the head frame carrying the several units,at an appropriate height with respect to a wool bale shown in chaindotted outline at 2 in the fiiling position. The head frame consistsessentially of a base plate 3 to which the several parts of each unitare fixed. The apparatus as illustrated is arranged for W001 bales inwhich the cover flap is permanently secured to one top edge. Thisrequires complete units only on the three remaining sides for stitchingpurposes.

Since the three units are identical, a description will be given of oneof them. Each unit consists essentially of a holding bar 4 rotatablymounted at each end in brackets 5 bolted to the base plate 3,pleat-forming metal fingers 6 pro jecting from a separate supporting bar1 mounted for pivoting movement about an axis constituted by'the pivotpins 8, and a gang of retaining hooks 9 projecting from a carrying bari0 which is mounted for sliding movement by means of guide pins Hco-acting with brackets l2. The holding bar 4 is provided with a row ofbale-supporting prongs l3 and is arranged to be partially rotated bylever arm l4, link [5 and lever arm Iii keyed to a control shaft l9,journalled in bearing brackets l1 bolted to the supporting framework l.The control shafts l8 are interconnected by thebevel pinions l9, and oneof them at what is the front of the apparatus, is operated by a crankedcontrol lever 29. By this arrangement all the holding bars 4 are rotatedsimultaneously for bale suspending or bale releasing purposes.

Movement of the pleat-forming fingers 6 into and out of their operativepositions is effected by means of toothed portions 2| of the holding bar4 which mesh with toothed sector gears 22 pivoted on the pins 8 andcarrying between them the bar I from which said fingers project afterthe manner of the prongs of a rake. As clearly indicated in Figs. 4, 5and 6, the bar 1 is positioned at the back of the holding bar 4, inwhich latter element clearance slots 23 are provided to enable thefingers 6 to move to their maximum forward operative positions asclearly shown in Fig. 4. The retaining hooks 9 are moved into and out oftheir operative positions by means of links 24, lever arms 25 and handlevers 26. As shown, the lever arms 25 and the hand levers 26 areattached to sleeves 21 rotatably mounted on the control shafts l8.

The actual stitching operation is done by an elongated needle .28 heldin a handled needle holder 29.

The needle 28 is arranged to be guided in a straightline so as to passthrough the folds in succession by means of a grooved guide 30 fixed tothe base plate 3, in the groove of -which the bottom member 3| of theneedle holdvalleys or depressions coincide with the retaining hooks 9.To enable the hooks 9 to engage with the bale as near its top edges aspossible, the carrying bar I0 is arranged for sliding movement close tothe underside of the holding bar 4, and clearance slots 32 are providedtherein through which the hooks 9 pass (see Fig. 6).

A description will now be given. of the actual operation of theapparatus in connection with a wool bale in which the cover flap ispermanently attached to one top edge. First of all the hand lever 29 ispulled outwardly which action causes all the holding bars 4 to rotateclockwise until the bale supporting prongs I3 project inwardly in moreor less horizontal positions as indicated by the dotted outline in Fig.5. The hand levers 26 are likewise pulled outwardly, which action causesthe retaining hooks 9 to move inwardly from the position shown in Fig. 6to the position shown in Fig. 4. The top edges 4| of the empty bale 2are then in turn pulled up and impaled on the prongs l3 after the pointsof the hooks 9 have in turn been forced through the fabric of the baleside adjacent the top edges, as indicated in Fig. 6. The rear side ofthe bale will of course be hung on the rear holding bar which is the oneon the right hand side of Figs. 1 and 2. It will be noted that the otherparts of the unit have been omitted from this side since the apparatus,as shown, is intended for use with bales having an attached cover flap.

The hand lever 20 is now moved inwardly whereby the holding bars 4 arerotated to bring their prongs [3 to the position shown in Fig. 4. Thehand lever 29 is then looked in this position by means of the notchedbracket 39. The bale is now ready for filling. When the fillingoperation is completed the cover flap 40 (Fig. 6) is pulled over theopen top and the downwardly folded edges 42 thereof are in turn hookedon to the inwardly protruding pointed ends of the hooks 9. Thereafterthe hand levers 26 are in turn moved inwardly which action pulls theoverlapping edge portions of the cover flap snugly into the folds asindicated in Fig. 6. In this position the bale is ready for thestitching operation. The needle holder 29 with the needle 28 threaded,is now placed with the end of the member 3| in engagement in the grooveof a guide 30, and by a sliding movement the needle is pushed throughthe folds in succession one or more times. The position of theneedle forthis purpose is shown in Fig. 6. It will be understood that thisstitching operation, by passing a thread through the folds between thecurved fingers 6 and the hooks 9, actually stitches the cover flap tothe edge of the bale by reason of the fact that the thread is passedalternately in and out through the double thickness of fabric.

After each of the three sides has been stitched in this manner, thehooks 9 are again moved inwardly by an outward pull on all the handlevers 26. The holding bars 4 are then rotated in a. clockwise directionuntil the bale edges super the supporting prongs l3. Thus released thebale drops and is thereby disengaged from the hooks 9. As describedearlier in the specification, partial clockwise rotation of the holdingbars 4, causes the curved metal fingers 6 to move upwardly andoutwardly, whereby they automatically disengage themselves from thestitches as the bale is lowered to the point where it is released fromthe holding prongs I3.

It will be understood that, since the bottom member 3! of the needleholder 29 is in no way fixed as regards its guide groove 30, the needle28 may be moved in a restricted arcuate path until the best position forthe stitches is found.

In the modified arrangement shown in Fig. 8, the retaining hooks 9a arearranged to operate on the inside of the holding bar 4a which isprovided with clearance slots 32a, to permit of the necessary horizontalmovement of said hooks. This construction allows the hooks 9a to bepositioned close to the retaining prongs l3 in their raised or operativeposition, thereby making it possible for the edges of the bale to beslipped under the pointed ends of said hooks 9a and then attached to theprongs l3. It will be understood that this arrangement obviates thenecessity of forcing the points of the retaining hooks through the balefabric as previously described. It also permits of the stitching of thecover flap closer to the top edges of the bale sides. In thisconstruction the pleat-forming fingers Ba may be arranged to passthrough clearance holes 23a in the holding bar 4a. v

The frame I is preferably mounted on rollers or castors 34 to permit ofits being easily moved from one place to another.

What I claim is:

1. A method of closing a wool bale and similar fabric container,comprising holding the top edges of said bale during the fillingoperation, then forming the material of said bale adjacent said topedges into a plurality of folds, then placing a cover flap over saidfilled bale, then forming the edges of said cover flap into foldsconforming with the folds formed in the top edges of said bale and thenpassing securing means through the folds in said bale and said coverflap which are in conformity.

2. A method of closing a wool bale and similar fabric container,comprising holding the top edges of said bale during the fillingoperation, then forming the material of said bale adjacent said topedges into a plurality of folds, then placing a 'cover flap over saidfilled bale, then forming the edges of said cover flap into foldsconforming with the folds formed in the top edges of said bale, and thenpassing a threaded needle transversely through said folds in said baleand said cover flap which are in conformity.

3. A method of closing a wool bale or similar fabric container having acover flap attached to one of the upper edges thereof comprisingsuspending said bale adjacent the top edges thereof during the fillingoperation, forming folds in the material of said bale adjacent said topedges,

then inserting the edges of said cover flap between the material in saidfilled bale and the interior surfaces of said top edges of said bale,then pulling said edges of said cover flap into conformity with thefolds in the material of said bale adjacent the top edges thereof andthen securing said folds of said bale and said cover flap.

4. A method of closing a wool bale or similar fabric container having acover flap attached to one of the upper edges thereof comprisingsuspending said bale adjacent the top edges thereof during the fillingoperation, forming folds in the material of said bale adjacent said topedges, then inserting the edges of said cover flap between the materialin said filled bale and the interior surfaces of said top edges of saidbale, then pulling said edges of said cover flap into conformity withthe folds in the material of said bale adjacent the top edges thereof,and then passing a threaded needle transversely through said folds insaid bale and said cover flap which are in conformity.

5. An apparatus for stitching a wool bale or similar four-sided fabriccontainer comprising a rectangularly shaped head frame, means on saidframe for releasably holding the top edges of the four sides of saidbale, a plurality of spaced pleatforming members mounted on said framefor forming a series of folds in the material of said bale adjacent itstop edges, said folds being formed merely by the Weight of the baledepending from the aforesaid releaseable holding means, and a series ofretaining members located between said pleat-forming members alsomounted upon said frame for drawing the edges of a cover flap into asnug fit with said folds so that said cover flap may be easily stitchedto the top edges of said bale.

6. An apparatus for stitching a wool bale or similar four-sided fabriccontainer comprising a rectangularly shaped head frame, means on saidframe for releaseably holding the top edges of the four sides of saidbale, a plurality of spaced pleatforming members mounted on said framefor forming a series of folds in the material of said bale adjacent itstop edges, said folds being formed merely by the weight of the baledepending from the aforesaid releaseable holding means, and a series ofretaining members located between said pleat-forming members alsomounted upon said frame for drawing the edges of a cover flap into asnug fit with said folds, and a guide positioned upon said frameadjacent said folds for guiding a threaded needle to stitch said folds.

7. An apparatus for stitching a wool bale or similar four-sided fabriccontainer, comprising a frame, releasable holding means for the topedges of the four sides of said bale mounted upon said frame, means foroperating said holding means simultaneously, a series of spacedpleat-forming members also positioned on said frame to form a series ofshallow folds in the top edges of said bale, said folds being formedmerely by the weight of the bale depending from the aforesaidreleaseable holding means, and a series of retaining members alsopositioned upon said frame intermediate said pleat forming members todraw the edges of .a cover flap snugly into contact with said folds sothat said folds may be secured together.

8. An apparatus for stitching a wool bale or similar four-sided fabriccontainer comprising a frame, releasable holding means for the top edgesof the four sides of said bale mounted upon said frame, means foroperating said holding means simultaneously, a series of spacedpleat-forming members also positioned on said frame to form a series ofshallow folds in the top edges of said bale, said folds being formedmerely by the weight of the bale depending from the aforesaidreleaseable holding means, and a series of retaining members alsopositioned upon said frame intermediate said pleat forming members todraw the edges of a cover flap snugly into contact with said folds, anda guide member located upon said frame adjacent said folds along which athreaded needle may be guided so as to thread a thread through saidfolds.

9. An apparatus for stitching a wool bale or similar four-sided fabriccontainer, comprising a frame, releasable holding means for the topedges of the four sides of said bale mounted upon said frame, means foroperating said holding means simultaneously, a series of spaced pleatforming members also positioned on said frame to form a series ofshallow folds in the top edges of said bale, said folds being formedmerely by the Weight of the bale depending from the aforesaidreleaseable holding means, and a series of retaining members alsopositioned upon said frame intermediate said pleat forming members todraw the edges of a cover flap snugly into contact with said folds, andsewing means reciprocable upon said frame for sewing said foldstogether.

10. An apparatus for closing a wool bale or similar fabric containercomprising a holding bar mounted for partial rotation about its own axisand positioned parallel with and adjacent a top edge of the bale, saidbar being provided with a row of spaced bale supporting prongs, a row ofpleat-forming members in the shape of downwardly curved fingersoperating in conjunction with the holding bar into and out of theiroperative positions, and a gang of hooked retaining members positionedbelow said holding bar and independently slidable into and out of theiroperative positions by means of separate control means.

11. An apparatus for closing a wool bale or similar fabric containercomprising a holding bar mounted for partial rotation about its own axisand positioned parallel with and adjacent a top edge of the bale, saidbar being provided with a row of spaced bale supporting prongs, a' rowof pleat-forming members in the shape of downwardly curved fingersoperating in conjunction with the holding bar into and out of theiroperative positions, and a gang of hooked retaining members positionedbelow said holding bar and independently slidable into and out of theiroperative positions by means of separate control means, a supporting barpivotally mounted behind said holding bar for pivoting movement on anaxis below the axis of said holding bar, said pleat-forming fingersprojecting from said supporting bar, a gear on said holding bar, atoothed sector on said supporting bar meshing with said gear so thatupon rotation of said holding bar for bale suspending purposes, saidfingers will be moved inwardly and downwardly to their operativepositions, and upon rotation of said holding bar for bale releasingpurposes said fingers will be withdrawn inwardly and outwardly away fromtheir operative positions and thereby released from the bale.

12. An apparatus for stitching a Wool bale or similar fabric containercomprising a frame, releasable holding means for the top edges of saidbale mounted upon said frame, means for operating said holding meanssimultaneously, a series of spaced pleat-forming members also positionedon said frame to form a series of shallow folds in the top edges of saidbale and a series of retaining members also positioned upon said frameintermediate said pleat-forming members to draw the edges of a coverflap snugly into contact with said folds, a holder frame, an elongatedneedle for stitching said folds together mounted in said holder frame,and a guiding member located on said frame parallel with and beneathsaid releasable holding means for said holder frame.

13. A construction as set forth in claim 10, wherein said holding bar isprovided with clearance slots for said fingers and said hooked retainingmembers.

14. A construction as set forth in claim 10, in which a plurality ofholding bars are provided and means for simultaneously operating saidholding bars.

15. A construction as set forth in claim 5, in which said frame isprovided with scallops provided in the edge of a plate forming the topof said frame conforming to the folds produced by said pleat-formingmembers.

VICTOR ZECKENDORF.

